She Didn't Have Time
by drtgaf
Summary: What he saw shocked him more than anything. It was one thing that he never thought he'd find in that car. It was a car seat. A pink car seat. Please R&R!
1. I'm Gonna Make This Place Your Home

**A/N: Here is an idea that I had a long time ago. It's based off of an old country song. Let me know how you like it. Please R&R. I'd also enjoy if ya'll had any input on the story. I've decided to try and get this story done by Christmas. We'll see if that happens, but in the meantime, here is my Christmas present for ya'll. Merry Christmas!**

"Mommy, are we there yet?"

"No, sweetie. It'll be about another hour. You wanna sing with the radio?"

"Yes, yes, yes. Please." The five year old jumped up and down in her pink car seat.

"Okay, okay." Rachel turned on the radio and tuned it to an 80s station. The music these days had too many curse words in them and she didn't want Katie to pick that up.

They sang to a couple of songs and then Rachel noticed that Katie was beginning to yawn more and more. She slowly turned the music down a little bit. She stopped singing when she saw her baby sleeping. Fully content.

Rachel turned her attention back to the road. She had seen the Ohio state sign a ways back so she knew she was close. Close to home. It had been years since she had come home. Her dads usually just made her way up to New York to see her, but she had to make this trip. Her daddy has a brain tumor. Although the doctors are positive that they caught it in time, she still needed to see him in person to believe them.

When she saw her exit, she called her papa and told him that she would be home very soon. She smiled to herself as she passed through downtown. Memories started to flood her brain. Memories of her teen years. She sighed to herself trying to push the memories away.

When she pulled into the driveway, her dads were standing on the porch smiling and waving to her. She couldn't help, but smile. When she put the car in park, she got out and ran up to them hugging them.

"Welcome home, baby girl." Her papa said.

"It's good to be home, Papa." She said. "Oh, come and see Katie. She has grown so much since you last saw her, I'm sure." She led them over to the car's back side door.

Rachel opened the door and slowly shook the little girl until she woke up. "Katie? Come on, wake up."

The small girl moved slightly and when slowly opened her big brown eyes. "Mommy?"

"Hey, baby. We're here."

Katie took a moment to register what her mom had said and then she shot up. "Grandpapa!" She said once Rachel stepped aside.

He unbuckled his granddaughter and picked her up pulling her into a big bear hug.

After they moved all of the luggage into the house, they four finally sat down and caught up.

"How's New York treating ya?" Papa asked.

Rachel just shrugs her shoulders as she glances over at Katie coloring in her princess book. "I just thought by now, I'd have a Tony or something. Even just a part on Broadway would be wonderful."

Her daddy shook his head. "I'm sorry pumpkin, I know this isn't what you envisioned for your life, but you have to admit seeing that little girl growing up is worth it."

Rachel can't help, but agree. With all the crap she's put up in her life, at least she has this one little piece of perfect.

The week passed on with two doctor's appointments. Both optimistic. Katie was getting bored of just playing with a few of her toys. She was used to being able to look out her window and watch many cars pass by on the street below. If she looked out a window here, she might see one car pass by every few minutes.

"Mommy?"

Rachel looked up from the paper. "Yes, baby."

"Can we do something fun today? Please!" She said as she got down on her knees and folded her hands over her chest, slightly shaking them. She had always had a dramatic side. Rachel wasn't sure if she got that from her or her father.

"Okay. What do you wanna do?'

"I don't know. Is there anything fun to do around here?"

"Well, we could go see a movie. Or we could go out for some ice cream." Rachel could see her daughter's eyes light up at the words.

"Ice cream! Ice cream!" Katie screamed jumping up and down.

Rachel stood up and tried to settle her down. "Okay, baby. Calm down." She stopped her jumping and gave Rachel a big smile. "Good girl, go grab your shoes and we'll get going."

Once they had grabbed some ice cream, Rachel decided to show Katie around the town. She drove through main street sharing memories of her childhood.

"Over there is where I used to get my hair cut." She said pointing at a beauty shop. "And that is where the old arcade was. They then turned it into a clothes shop." Rachel recalled the change when she was 14.

"What's an arcade?" Katie asked.

"It was a place where there were all these video games that people could play. You know that room that we go into when we are waiting at the movie theater?" Katie nodded. "It's like that, only it has way more games."

"Cool."

Rachel continued her little tour. Once they reached the end of main street, Rachel noticed a familiar building. She remembered it as plain old Burt's Garage, but the building had changed. It was still a garage, but it looked as though it had been remodeled. Same name though. She figured that Burt was still running it. Just thinking about that place brought back so many memories. Memories she didn't want to remember.

"Finn, Wake-Up!"

Finn, startled by the high pitched shriek, jumped up, bumping his head on his headboard. He mumbled a curse word under his breath before composing himself. Rubbing his head, he looked up at his step-brother.

"Kurt? What do you need?" He half yelled.

"Good morning to you, too."

"Sorry, dude, but did you have to wake me up like that?"

Kurt came over and gave Finn one of the two coffee cups. "Yes and for two good reasons. One, you have a meeting this morning that you really need to get to."

Finn shot up out of the bed and ran over to his closet to find his suit. "Oh, shoot. Thanks, man. Totally forgot."

"Don't you want to hear the other reason that I had to wake you up?" Kurt said as he leaned against the door frame of the room.

Finn didn't look up, but responded. "What is it?"

"Well, I just got off the phone with Mercedes and she told me the most surprising thing."

"Mercedes is back in town?"

"Yeah, yeah. On a break from her tour. Anyway, she told me that a certain big-nosed, brunette is back in town."

Finn stopped his motions. "What?"

"Yeah, apparently, Mercedes saw her driving through town yesterday. It's like the first time anyone has seen her since high school."

"What's she doing here?"

"I'm not sure. I think it has something to do with one of her fathers. What are you going to do about it?"

"What do you mean?" Finn asked searching for two matching black dress socks.

"Well, ever since high school, all you've done is talk about her and miss her. You haven't even dated."

"That's not true, Kurt. I dated Riley for awhile. "

"Finn, you went on two dates with her. That does not count as dating."

"Whatever, man. I'm not doing anything. She's the one who left. She's the one who never contacted me. Now, can you please leave so I can get ready."

"Fine. But if you do decide to do anything, let me knoooow." Kurt said as he walk out the door leaving Finn to get dressed.

"Mr. Hudson, we understand how hard this past year has been on you, but changes must be made."

Finn took in Mr. Allen's words as he tried to control his anger. He replied. "Changes have been made. The shop has been completely remodeled over the past year."

"Yes, and those upgrades have cost us dearly. Don't you see, Mr. Hudson, everything that you've done has only added to the debt that the shop owes."

"Yes, I've seen the bills. And if you'd just give me and my men a little more time, I'm sure that we can figure out a way to pay."

"There is not a way to do that. I've ran through all the scenarios and it doesn't matter what you do, you will have to declare bankruptcy. Right now, you owe more than that little hick town shop is worth."

That was it. Finn had heard enough. He stood up and towered over the other man. "Listen here, Mr. Allen. That shop means so much to me and this town. Do you want to know why business has been slow lately? It's because we actually know how to work with cars. When we fix these cars, we actually do fix these cars. We do not have customers coming back with the same problem within a few days as most shops do."

"You might be a great team of guys, but this problem cannot be fixed. I'm sorry, but we're going to have to close you down."

Finn sighed. He knew this might happened, but had hoped that he would have been able to stop it. "How long?"

"I'd say you've got til the end of the year."

Finn nodded. "Okay. Thank you for your time." He left without another word.

He loosened his tie as he walked out of the bank. That was one thing he loved about his job. He never had to wear a tie. He never had to dress up. He dropped onto the curb as he thought about what was going to happen next.

He would have to start by telling his mom. She will be upset and probably disappointed. She really believed that he would take good care of the shop.

After his mom, he'd have to inform his men at the shop. They were all great guys who worked hard. This is going to break them. Some of them were the main income in their families. Finn just wished that he had a million bucks so he could divide it up between all of them.

He dreaded telling Kurt most of all. It was his dad's shop after all. After Burt died from his second heart attack last year, Finn inherited the shop. Burt knew Kurt would not be able to handle it. Turns out Burt had been wrong. Finn had drove the shop into the ground. He didn't want to have to tell Kurt that he ruined one of the biggest parts of his father's life.

He sighed again as he leaned back and let the sun warm him up. He watched as a few cars passed by him. He knew a few of the drivers since he had worked on their cars before. Then he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He saw a bright red VW Jetta stopped at the light near the Dancing Moon bookstore. He sat up and focused in on the driver. Sure enough, it was Rachel. The one and only. He was surprised that she drove the same car that she had had in high school. The car did fit her personality though. It was small, yet drew attention to itself immediately as it drove by.

He watched as she fumbled around with something in the passenger seat. Once she was satisfied with whatever it was, she turned her attention back to the light and traffic. He took in her appearance. She hadn't changed much since high school. Her hair was up in a messy bun. He had never seen her without her hair fixed properly. He couldn't help, but think that she was even more beautiful than he remembered. Soon, her light changed and she turned left. He assumed that she was headed back to her dads' house.

He knew he should try and contact her, but with everything that had just happened, he felt that it'd be better if he didn't bother with it. Finn stood up from the curb and slowly made his way down the street to the shop. There were a lot of things he had to take care of. Better go ahead and start now.

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	2. Break Down

**A/N: Here's another chapter. Hope you enjoy. Reviews are love! Have a Merry Christmas!**

"Papa, Daddy, I'm home!" Rachel yelled as she came in the front door.

LeRoy came in the room and greeted Rachel. "Hi, sweetie." He kissed her cheek.

"I got Daddy's meds. Has he gotten up yet?" She said as she put her things away.

"Yeah, he's taking a shower. I'll get him to take his medicine when he gets out. You should go check on Katie."

Rachel stopped for a moment. "Why? What happened? Is she okay?"

"Relax, sweetheart. She got up after you left. She said she wasn't feeling well and then she started crying because you weren't here. I took back to your room and told her to rest and that you'd be back soon. She's just resting right now."

"Does she has a fever?" Rachel asked as she made her way up the stairs.

"I don't think so. She didn't feel warm. I think it's just a cold."

"Okay. I'll go check on her. Thanks for calming her down."

"No problem, sweetie."

Rachel made her way to her childhood room. She opened the door and was greeted with an overwhelming amount of pink. She had let Katie sleep in here because she thought her five year old might like it.

Sure enough, her daughter was in the bed sound asleep. Rachel walked over and tried to gently feel of Katie's forehead. She felt the girl move beneath her hand and knew that she had woken her up.

"Sorry, sweetie. Just checking to see if you have a fever."

Katie rolled onto her side to face her mom. She wiped some of the sleep from her eyes. "I feel bad."

"I know. Grandpapa told me. Do you feel throw-up sick or just icky sick?"

Katie thought for a moment. "Icky."

"Alright, well how about I go get you some water and then you can go back to sleep."

"Kay."

After Rachel had gotten Katie some water and tucked her back into bed, she decided to go back to the store.

"Papa, Daddy, I'll be back."

"Hey, Jack."

"Good morning, Finn."

Finn couldn't help but feel the opposite way. He had left the bank and stopped by his house to talk with his mom.

_"Is there nothing else that you can do?" She asked tearing up._

_"No. I'm sorry, mom, but after the remodel, there is just nothing left." He explained._

_"What about all the people who work there?"_

_"I'll have to let them know to start looking for work."_

_"Those poor people. There's got to be another way."_

_"Sorry, mom, but there's not. I've tried everything."_

_"Have you told Kurt yet?"_

_Finn sighed. "No. I'm putting that one off. I don't know how he'll react."_

_"If you don't want to tell him, I will."_

_"No. It should be me. I just wish I could've have done more to prevent this."_

_"It's not your fault, Finn. The shop was losing money long before Burt died." She then changed the topic by asking what Finn wanted for breakfast. _

Finn had left the house and made his way to the shop. He figured he could get in some work and get his mind off everything. He told Amanda, his assistant, to notify everyone that they were going to have meeting that afternoon. He was already dreading it.

She couldn't believe it. Out of all the things that could happen to her.

"Hey, Papa." She said into the phone.

_"Hey Sweetie. What's up?"_

"My car has ceased to run and is smoking." She sighed. "Again."

_"Did you call Burt's?"_

"Not really…"

_"Rachel…"_

"I know. I just don't want to deal with him right now. Can't you just come down here and call for me and then take me home?"

_"Oh alright. I'll be there in a bit."_

"Thank you, Papa." She hung up and proceeded to gather her things out of her car, thankful that her papa was going take care of everything.

"Mr. Hudson?"

Finn came out from under the Honda Civic he was working on and saw his assistant poking her head out of the office. "Amanda, I told you to call me Finn." He said standing and wiping his hands on an old rag.

"Sorry, -, Finn."

"That's okay. What do you need?"

"A call just came in asking for a tow. Volkswagen Jetta on Felton Drive. Broke down and smoking." She read from a small note. "Owner's name is Berry. Do you want to go get it or do you want me to send Blake?"

Finn thought for a moment. He could easily use this opportunity to see her, but with everything that was going on. He just didn't want to have to deal with that problem, too. "Go ahead and send Blake. I'm pretty tied up here." He said before making his way back under the car.

"Hey, sweetie."

"Hey, Papa. Thanks for coming." Rachel said as she hugged her father.

"No problem. I went ahead and called the shop. They should be here soon."

"Good." She said trying not to further the conversation.

Picking up on this, her papa changed the subject. "Did you get Katie's medicine?"

Rachel rummaged through her bag. "Yes, and I got her some Kleenex and some Dots and a Pepsi. Those always make her feel better. Was she asleep when you left?"

"Seemed like it."

A tow truck from Burt's Auto Shop then pulled up and parked in front of Rachel's car. Rachel held her breath as she waited to see who would step out of the truck. Thankfully, it was a guy she had never met before.

He loaded up her car and gathered her information so that they could contact her when they had her car fixed.

Finn looked up when he saw the tow truck return with Rachel's car. He finished up the car he had been working on and made his way over to help Blake unload the car.

"Hey, man." Finn greeted.

"Hey, Finn."

"Need a hand?"

"That'd be great." They started to lower the car off the truck.

"So, did the driver seem okay?" Finn asked.

"Uh, yeah." Blake answered. "Her dad was with her. He took her home. You know it wasn't a wreck, right?"

"Yeah, I just knew the girl back in high school and wanted to make sure."

"Oh so that's why." Blake said with a smirk.

Finn shrugged it off and continued to help Blake with the car.

Once the car was down, they got it into the garage and started problem-shooting. Finn knew right away what the problem was. It was the same problem she had had way back in high school. He located the leaky valves that he had fixed over and over again years before. They looked worse than ever before. He decided that it would be best if he ordered the part and finally replaced it.

Once he had settled on his plan, he went and put in an order for the part. He came back and looked at the car. She had kept it in pretty good shape. Tires looked fairly new. He wiped his hand across the top and could instantly tell that it had recently had a wax job. Just looking at her car, he could tell so much about her. It was kind of like reading her diary.

He knew it was wrong but, he decided to get in the drivers seat. As he settled in the car, he took in the smell. He had hoped that it would smell like her, but it looked like she had just put in a new air freshener. There were bits of trash everywhere which surprised him. Rachel had always been a bit OCD when it came to keeping her car neat. He saw a few straw wrappers and then gum wrappers. He looked above his head and checked out CDs that she had been listening to lately. It was basically the same ones she had had in there seven years ago. He noticed a few different ones, but one in particular caught his eye.

It was a childish looking CD with some overly happy and overly colorful people on the front called the Doodlebops. He questioned the reason for Rachel having this CD. He figured that she might have become a children's music teacher and listened to the CD to get inside their heads.

He rummaged around a bit more in the front seat finding random objects such as chap stick and pitch pipe. Finn decided that he had seen enough and that he should start getting ready for his staff meeting. He exited the car and shut the door. He looked through the window at the front seat to make sure it didn't look like he had been in there, when he saw something in the back seat. It was bulky. He moved to the other side of the car and peered through the window. What he saw shocked him more than anything. It was the one thing he never thought that he'd find in that car.

It was a car seat. A pink car seat.

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	3. Hi

**A/N: So I replaced the other chapter. Just didn't feel complete enough. This new one kind of jumps around a bit, but I still like it better. Here's to hoping everyone enjoys it. Oh, and I guess ya'll figured out that it wasn't done by Christmas, but hopefully I can get it done before I go back to school. I just get so busy. Please R&R. Also, if ya'll have any ideas for the story just PM me.**

As he walked into that meeting, he felt his heart beat faster and his palms start to sweat. This was the very last thing he ever thought he'd have to do. He felt nauseated at the thought of seeing the faces of his staff when he told them the news.

He watched their faces as their attention turned to him.

"Good afternoon, everyone." He paused trying to collect his thoughts. "I have some news. Some bad news."

He saw worry wash over their faces.

"I've tried everything that I could, but the shop going to be shut down by the end of the year."

It seemed as though everyone in the room gasped at the same time. He should have better prepared them for this.

"The shop's just losing too much money. I know that we have many months before the shop does close down, but I thought that ya'll deserved to know as soon as possible. With that being said, we still have a lot of work to do. We need to notify customers and work on selling equipment and things like that. If at anytime, any of ya'll find another job, you are free to go. Paychecks will be paid with the same amount to any remaining employees."

He saw many people who looked as though they were trying to figure out a plan for the future.

"I am very sorry for this. I take all the blame. I just want you guys to know that I tried my hardest. It just didn't work out." He said trying to keep his "professional" face on.

He turned and left the office. He looked around the garage at the cars and equipment. Then, it hit him. This was all that he had known since he graduated high school. Now, it was all going to disappear.

He then spotted a certain bright red VW Jetta. He walked over to the car and looked inside. Rachel had moved on. She had gone off and found another man. Probably married him and then had his baby. He wished he could be more like her. Ambitious. Talented. Everything he was when he was in high school. Now, everything was ended. Now was the time to find his new dream.

Rachel quietly opened the door, expecting to see Katie sound asleep. To her surprise, Katie was actually very much awake and playing with the piano app from her grandpapa's iPad. She had been doing better over the past few days.

"Oh, Katie." Rachel said alerting her daughter that she was caught.

Katie froze. "Uh, hi momma." She said before giving Rachel her signature smile. That smile alone had gotten her an extended bedtime, cookies before dinner, and even a new toy. Rachel just could not resist that smile.

"You're supposed to be asleep…"

"I know. My mind just didn't wanna." She said turning the iPad off and placing on the bedside table.

Rachel slipped in the bed beside her daughter. "Why is that? What's on your mind?"

Katie sighed. "A lot of things."

"Name a few."

"Well, first there's granddaddy and whether or not he's gonna be okay."

Rachel pulled her daughter into a hug. "Oh sweetie. I don't want you to worry about that. He'll be fine."

"I know. I just keep thinking about it."

"Yeah." Rachel wasn't sure of what else to say on the subject. In all honesty, she was scared herself. "What else is on your mind?" Rachel asked, trying to change the subject.

"Well, I was wondering when we are going to go back home."

"I'm not sure about that one. It depends on how quickly granddaddy gets better. We'll definitely have to be back by August though. That's when you get to start kindergarten."

"What if, I don't want to go to school? What if, I don't make any friends?"

Rachel thought about her daughter's worries. It wasn't like school was ever great for Rachel. Especially, the social aspect. "Well, first off, you have to go to school. It makes you smarter and being smarter will help you have a better life. Secondly, you're definitely going to make friends. Who wouldn't want to be friends with you?" Rachel said tapping Katie on her nose. "Okay, was that all that was on your mind or was there something else?" She saw Katie hesitate.

"Well, there was one more thing. I just… every time I see you with grandpapa and granddad, I can't help but think about it."

"What is 'it'?" Rachel asked, confused.

"My dad."

Rachel took a deep breath. "What exactly do you wonder about?"

"Who he was. What he was like. Stuff like that."

"Well, sweetie, I'll tell some stuff about him if you want to know it." Rachel really didn't want to, but hated to not share this information with Katie when similar information was kept from her at a younger age.

"Okay. Well, did he know about me? Like does he know that I exist?"

"Yes, he does." Was all Rachel offered.

"Does he not want me or something?" The question, itself broke Rachel's heart into millions of pieces.

"I don't know, honestly. We were young when I had you. I think he was just too immature to deal with having a baby. Babies are a lot of responsibility. I just think he wasn't ready."

Katie was quiet for a bit, thinking of the what her mom had said.

Rachel felt that she might have said something wrong. "You know, baby, anytime you want to ask me questions about him, I'm willing to answer, within reason, of course."

"I think I just wanna sleep now."

"Okay." Rachel turned off the bedside lamp and held her daughter in her arms. She wasn't sure how to feel about the conversation. She wished that she never had to discuss this, but since Katie was so much like her, that was bound not to happen. She just laid there holding her sweet baby.

"I love you, Momma." Those four words could not have brought more peace to Rachel's mind in that moment.

"I love you, too, baby."

"Good morning, sweetheart."

Rachel shuffled into the kitchen where her dad handed her a cup of coffee. It seemed like she had developed an addiction to the stuff ever since Katie was born. She was of no use in the morning until she had had her cup of joe.

"Hi, Daddy." She greeted sleepily.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Kinda. I'm pretty sure that I should get Katie into a soccer league. That kid can kick."

"Why'd you sleep in the same bed?"

"We had a little talk about her dad. She had some questions. I guess we both just kind of fell asleep."

"What did she want to know?" Her father asked before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Well, she wanted to know if he knew about her and stuff like that." She said placing her mug on the counter and hopping up on the countertop.

Her father thought for a bit. "Do you think that you'll ever let them meet?"

"I don't know. I'm really for the no side of that question, but part of me feels like she should at least have a father in her life. Then I think, well, he didn't want to be in her life in the first place so why should I even let him. I keep going back and forth." She shrugged.

"Well, Rachel, you are right. He has no right to meet her. Whatever you end up deciding, just make sure that it's best for both you and Katie. Okay?"

"Sure, Daddy."

He cleaned out his mug and put it in the dishwasher. He was about to leave when he remembered something. "Oh, Rachel. I almost forgot. The garage called. Your car is ready."

"Okay."

"Want me to take you to go get it?"

She hesitated. "Sure. Just let me go get ready."

She finished her cup of coffee and cleaned it out. Then, she went upstairs to get dressed. Normally, going to a place such as a garage would qualify as a jeans and hoodie type of outing, however, due to the current circumstances, this trip would need to require a descent top and possibly a skirt or maybe even some shorts. She knew that she shouldn't fret over what she was going to wear, but she just couldn't help it.

Once ready, Rachel rode with her father to Burt's. It had been so long since she had gone there and yet, it felt as though she had just been there yesterday. As she rode alongside her father, she felt as though she was transforming back into her old high school self. The insecure, overly peppy, gold star freak that she had tried to forget about. She watched the scenery go by. She could feel her palms as they got sweaty and she could feel her heart as it's rhythm rapidly increased. She couldn't believe she was acting like this. She had left that part of her life behind her a long time ago. Yet, as her father pulled into the parking lot of Burt's Garage, she realized that maybe it was still with her.

"Hey, Finn!" The call startled him and he jerked his head up, hitting the muffler.

"Ouch, dammit." He said rubbing his head as he emerged out from under the car. He spotted Blake. "What do you want?"

"Oh man. Sorry. I didn't mean to make you jump." He then helped Finn to his feet.

"It's fine. Whatever." He said trying to get over the dizzy feeling that had overcome him.

"Oh, well, you told me to tell you when that Berry girl came for her car. She's here in the office. With her father."

So much for the dizzy feeling going away. Finn leaned on the car as he took in the information. "Okay. Thanks man."

"Sure thing."

Finn stumbled his way over to the office. He peeked into the office. Talking with Amanda, was none other than Rachel. And did she look good. Sure she had aged since he last saw her, but to him, she was just that much more beautiful. She kept looking around the office. He watched as she noticed his old letterman jacket on the coat rack. Yeah, he was too old to wear it, but he was proud of it. He normally just left it on the rack for show.

She looked nervous. He knew why. He felt the same way. There was only one thing left to do. He opened the door. Her attention was immediately drawn to him.

"Hi."

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	4. Excuses, Excuses

**A/N: Yay for the first chapter of 2013! Here is what I hope to be another great chapter. Even I can't figure out where this story is going. Oh well! Enjoy! Please R&R!**

"After you…" Rachel's daddy said opening the door to the shop for her. This would normally be considered a kind offer, but, given the situation, he was just trying to get her to take charge of the situation.

"Thanks." She replied sarcastically.

She went up to the desk and gave the assistant, Amanda, her information and then was told to hold on for a few minutes. The woman then went off to talk to some guy named Blake.

"Well." Her daddy said. "I know this might be kind of mean, but I have to go." He tried to avoid eye contact.

Rachel's jaw dropped. "What?!" You can't."

"Rachel, you are perfectly able to take it from here. It's already paid for. All you have to do is drive it home."

"Still, I.. Please don't leave." Rachel practically begged.

"Sorry, sweetie. In all honesty, I have to go get ready for my appointment." He explained. "That also means that you need to hurry it up and get home to take over Katie-duty."

With his excuse, Rachel couldn't argue anymore. She knew how important his appointment was and how worried he got about them.

"Fine." She said crossing her arms and shrugging. "If you must."

"I must." He said before kissing her cheek and walking out the door.

She was on her own now. She only had a short chance to look around the office before Amanda walked back in.

"Oh, what happened to your father?" She asked nicely.

"He had to leave." Rachel replied. Then a thought crossed her mind. Amanda was Finn's assistant. What if they had… No, well maybe...

She then shook the thought from her head as she pretended to listen to Amanda as she explained what had been wrong with her car. She really never understood stuff like that. She would just hand her dad the paper that she would get with the explanation on it. She noticed something red in the corner of her eye.

She turned a bit and saw her ex-fiancée's old high school letterman jacket. That was when it hit her. He was within 100 yards of her. There was a very high chance they would see each other. What would she say? How should she act?

All her thoughts quickly left her mind when she heard someone open the door to the garage. She turned her head. The world stopped spinning in that moment. As she stared at him, she couldn't help, but feel dizzy.

"Hi." He spoke first.

"Hey." She spoke barely above a whisper. She just couldn't stop staring at him. He seemed to have the same problem. For a moment, it seemed as though the rest of the world had disappeared and they were the only ones left.

This was interrupted shortly, by none other than Amanda. "Um, excuse me."

Finn was the first to break the gaze. He looked over at Amanda. "Yeah?"

"Hear are her keys." Amanda said handing over the keys to Finn.

"Oh, thanks." He looked back at Rachel who now seemed to be very entertained by a certain spot on the desk.

"Rachel," He said grabbing her attention. "Wanna go get your car?"

"Hu- Oh, yeah, sure." She said following him as he walked into the garage. She then tried to start up a conversation. "So, are you running this place now or is Burt still in charge?"

"Uh, I'm in charge now." He said watching his feet as he walked.

"Oh, well that's great. Did he get a bigger position in Washington or something?"

"No." He questioned whether he should tell her or not. "He actually, uh, died last year."

She stopped walking. "Oh, Finn. I'm so sorry."

"It's fine."

"How's Kurt doing with it?"

"Uh, well, he's dealing I guess…"

"Did he ever go to New York?"

"Um, no." He replied spotting her car. "He was going to go. He actually had a ticket for the day after Burt died, but got it refunded. He keeps saying that he's going to go, but I doubt it."

Rachel just couldn't believe it. She felt so bad for all of the Hudson-Hummels.

"Here we are. Did Amanda go over what I found?"

"Um, yeah. I'll just let daddy have the receipt. He should be able to figure it out."

Finn chuckled. "Haven't changed a bit?"

She couldn't help, but smile. "It's true. I'm still a daddy's girl."

She grabbed her keys and hopped in her car and started it. She let out a sigh of relief as the engine purred for her.

"What? Didn't think I could fix it?" He said jokingly.

"I guess I'm still surprised at how well you are at fixing cars." She said from her seat.

"Uh-huh."

Their conversation kind of stalled for a bit. Neither was sure of what to say. Finn glanced at her left hand. No ring. He knew then that he had to see her again.

Rachel looked at her watch. "Oh, I've got to go."

"Oh, well, um, would you maybe want to grab some lunch sometime while you're home?" He asked hoping he had not been to forward.

"That'd be great. Do you still have the same number?" She asked excited.

"Oh, yeah." He said. He wasn't sure he had just heard her right.

"Okay, then I'll text or call with times for when I'm free." She said with a bright smile.

"Okay." He backed away from the car as she shut her door and started backing out of the garage. She stopped momentarily to give him a little wave. She wished that she could have stayed longer, but she just didn't have time.

Her jaw was sore from smiling all the way home. She parked her car in the driveway and entered the house.

"Daddy, I'm back!" She announced as she made her way through the front door.

He walked from the kitchen with her papa. "Oh, good. We were about to call and check on you. We've got to get going." Her papa said.

"Sorry that it took a bit." She grabbed the receipt. "Here daddy."

He took it knowing what it was. "Okay, sweetie, we've got to go. Katie is watching a movie in the living room."

"Okay, thanks and good luck." She said as they rushed out of the door.

She put her things away and then set out to find her daughter. Sure enough, Katie was hypnotized by what seemed to be Beauty and the Beast.

"Katie?" Rachel asked. Her daughter simply nodded and grabbed another handful of popcorn. Rachel gasped and then rushed over to take the popcorn from her daughter.

"What's wrong momma?" Katie asked, distracted from the movie.

"Nothing. I just thought that I had told them that you weren't allowed to have popcorn."

"But, mommy," Katie started giving her best puppy dog eyes. "It's soooo good."

"I know sweetie, but it's bad for you." Rachel tried to explain.

"But, it's so good." Katie threw in her signature smile just for the effect.

"Oh, fine." Rachel relented handing the popcorn back to her daughter. "But, if you're eating it, I get to eat it, too."

Rachel sat down next to her daughter and grabbed a handful of the salty treat. She joined her daughter watching the movie. That was, until Katie fell asleep.

Once the movie was over, Rachel turned the TV off and place a blanket over her sleeping princess. Then she walked into the kitchen to check her schedule. That ending scene just reminded her that she needed to get together with Finn for lunch. She looked over the next week and tried to find a few openings. Her daddy had many appointments set up for this week, but Thursday looked free. She almost went ahead and texted him, but then thought that she should talk to her dads before she made plans with Finn.

Then a thought crossed her mind. How would she tell him about Katie? It wasn't something you could just bring up casually. Was it? This caused for her to get out a notebook and pen. She would have to write out a few scenarios and chose the best one. Right before her pen touched the paper, another thought popped up. The car seat. He might have seen the car seat in her car when he was working on it. What if, he already knew? What if he thought she was married?

One thought led to another and then she was freaking out about how to tell him that she had amounted to nothing. She never got to live out her Broadway dreams. He would probably give her that look. The 'I'm sorry, you're dreams are over and you have nothing left' look.

That was it. She just wouldn't be able to meet with him. She just couldn't face him. If he asked, she could just say that she didn't have time. Yeah, that would work.

**Don't forget to Review, Follow, and Favorite! Lots of Love!**


	5. Bro Time

**A/N: Here's another chapter. This one involves a bit of brotherly love. Let me know what ya'll think. Reviews are love so please R&R! **

_Thud, Thud!_

Finn moaned as he rolled over in his bed. "Whaat?"

The door opened slowly. Finn glared as Kurt came into view.

"What did I tell you about waking me up like this?"

"Hey, it was quieter than last time, so you really can't complain." Kurt reasoned.

Finn looked at his clock. "Dude, why did you wake me up? I don't have to go in today."

"I know, I know. It's just, well, I was talking to Carol over our morning coffee and she mentioned that you might have, oh, I don't know, talked to the girl you've been obsessing about for years upon years!" He said adding a slight crescendo to that last part.

Finn covered his head with his pillow. "Uggghhh."

"So, I, of course, would just like to know," He hopped onto the bed. "What happened?" He said smiling and raising his eyebrows.

"Do you really think I would tell you?"

"Oh, come on, Finn. I need some juicy gossip. If I keep coming up short, Mercedes will stop talking with me."

Finn hadn't seen Kurt this excited since before… well, maybe it wouldn't be terrible to let him know a few things.

"Fine." Kurt sat up like a eager puppy. "Her car broke down and Blake towed it to the shop. I fixed it up and she came to get it. We sort of talked. It was mainly awkward. Anyway, she is supposed to call me and let me know when she can meet up for lunch."

"Annnd?" Kurt asked.

"And nothing. I haven't heard anything from her and that was three days ago."

"Why don't you call her? You still have her number right?" Kurt asked.

Finn thought for a moment. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

"Great, so give her a call. Work something out, get dressed, and then meet me downstairs."

"Why?"

"Well, if you're going on a date, you need a new outfit." Finn rolled his eyes. "Think about it, Finn. She's been in New York for almost seven years or so. She's probably dated New York men. You need to step it up." He left on that note.

Finn rolled over and got dressed. Might as well.

"Okay, so I was thinking we could give you a California-Southern boy kind of vibe." Kurt said sorting through clothes racks. "Okay, here we go. Try this shirt on with, um, those shorts over there." He said handing Finn a light blue/white plaid shirt and rushing over to find his size in the shorts.

Finn tried on the outfit. He actually liked this one. He went out of the dressing room to show Kurt.

"Yes. That is it. It's perfect."

"For once I actually agree with you."

"Okay, so, we have the outfit. All that's left is to actually make the date."

Finn sighed. "I know, I just… I don't know what to say to her. I haven't seen her in so long. And maybe, she doesn't want to have lunch with me. Maybe, that's why she didn't call."

"Stop sounding like that insecure little boy. Finn, you are twenty-five and it's time to take control."

"Alright, I'll call her after we get out of here."

"Good. Now go get dressed. I'm getting hungry."

"I can't believe she didn't answer." Finn said forking in another mouthful of spaghetti.

"Maybe, she was busy or lost her phone. You should have left her a message."

"Yeah, maybe." Finn finished up his lunch.

So far, he had had a great day with his brother. Minus the whole Rachel-not-answering-his-call thing. This was the first time in a while that they had the chance to hang out, just them. Then it hit Finn. He still had to tell him about the garage.

It had been on the back of his mind all day, but he had ignored it because of how great their day was going. Kurt was happy. He didn't want to ruin it. He decided to wait until later. Maybe when they got home. Yeah, that'd work.

"Hey, Kurt." Kurt looked up as he was putting his things up. "Thanks for your help today." Finn said.

"No problem." He said as he started upstairs.

"Um, Kurt?" Finn called.

"Yeah?" Kurt turned around.

"Can we talk?"

Kurt knew something was up. He had felt it for days, but thought it was just Rachel. "Uh, yeah." He said following Finn into the kitchen.

Finn made them some warm milk. That's when Kurt knew it must be bad. Finn normally hated when Kurt made it for him . The only other time Finn had made it for Kurt was the night of Burt's funeral.

They sat down at the bar in the kitchen with their milk.

"There's something I need to talk to you about." Finn started.

"I kind of guessed that, seeing as you asked if we could talk." Kurt said trying to lighten the mood.

Finn gave a small smile and then continued. "I've tried really hard these past few months, but," He took a deep breath. "The garage, i-it's, um, it's going to close down." Kurt slowly nodded. "I notified the employees yesterday. I told my mom the day I found out. It'll be closed by the end of the year."

Kurt swallowed some of his milk. "What happens after that?"

"What do you mean?"

"What are you going to do?"

Finn was surprised by the question. He hadn't expected Kurt to think about something like that. "I don't know. I guess I'll find another garage to work at." He answered.

"Okay."

"Are you okay with this?" Finn asked concerned.

"I guess I have to be. In all honesty, I've kind of hated that place for a while. It only reminds me of my dad. I pass by it and each time, I almost turn into the parking lot. It's like it tricks me into thinking that he's at work or something. I just get depressed looking at it." Kurt explained.

Finn nodded. "Okay. If you want to come by some time and look around the place, maybe pick up some of his things, you are more than welcome to."

"Thanks. And, Finn, thanks for keeping it going this long. Dad would have been proud of you."

"Thanks, man."

Later that night, Finn laid in his bed thinking about his conversation with Kurt. He thought that Kurt would have taken it harder, but apparently not. He was surprised and a bit worried. Kurt was like that after Burt died. He just acted as though everything was fine. He eventually had a break down. Finn had taken Kurt and Carol to Burt's grave. Carol cried as usual, but Kurt flung himself to the tombstone and bawled his eyes out. Finn was hoping this wouldn't end up being a repeat.

Finn was almost asleep when he saw his phone light up. He felt his heart rate quicken. He knew it was her. Who else would call him at this time?

He got up from his bed and grabbed his phone. He was right. He pressed the screen to accept the call.

"Hey." He said.

_"Oh, hey, Finn. I thought you've might have already been asleep." _

"Nah. I was just laying there thinking about stuff."

_"Oh. Um, I was just looking at my schedule and I think that Thursday might be good for me if you still want to catch some lunch."_

"Yeah, that sounds great!" He said a bit too loud.

_"Okay. Is noon okay?" _He could hear a smile in her voice.

"Yeah. There's this new bistro on Main St. I think they might have some vegan options. If you're still vegan?" He truly didn't know.

_"Actually, I-"_ She was cut off by what sounded like crying in the background. _"Finn, I've got to go. See you Thursday!"_

And with that, she hung up.

His thoughts immediately went to that car seat. He knew that the topic will have to come up when they talk next. He needed to know if she were married or if this was even her kid. Maybe, a cousin or someone died and it's their kid. Maybe, she was left with the child. He had hoped that was the reason.

He got back into bed and tried to rid the thought from his mind and get some sleep. It had been a long day.


	6. Sparks Fly

**A/N: Here's another chapter for ya'll. Thanks for the reviews and other stuff! Keep those coming. Tell me what ya think. Please R&R! Lots of Love!**

"Actually, I-"

Rachel was cut off by her daughter crying for her from the other room. She had thought that Katie had been fast asleep for a few hours.

"Finn, I've got to go. See you Thursday!"

She hated to hang up on him, but she needed to go check on her baby. Rachel left the living room and went upstairs to see what Katie needed.

"Katie?" She asked as she entered the room.

"Momma!" She whined from the bed.

"What, sweetie?" Rachel asked sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I had a bad dream." She said with a pout.

"Well, do you want to tell me about it?" Rachel said wiping her daughter's hair from her face.

"Okay." She sighed as she sat up. "I was playing in the park and you were there. Then granddaddy and grandpapa showed up. They started swinging. I was on the slide like always. Then granddaddy decided to jump from his swing. When he did, he fell. Me and you ran over to him, but he wouldn't wake up. Then I woke up."

"Oh, honey it was just a dream." Rachel reasoned.

"It didn't feel like it." Katie said settling back into bed.

"Granddaddy is fine. He's asleep in his bed as we sleep."

"Will he wake up?"

"Yes, he will."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. Trust me, Katie, he's fine." The more her daughter questioned her, the less Rachel believed what she was saying.

"Okay."

"Now, can you get some sleep."

"Can you sing me to sleep?" Katie asked giving Rachel her puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah." Rachel answered. "What do you want me to sing?"

"Um, how about the skies get rough song?"

"Okay, but only one song." Rachel said and then started to softly sing her daughter to sleep.

_When I look into your eyes_

_It's like watching the night sky_

_Or a beautiful sunrise_

_There's so much they hold_

_And just like them old stars_

_I see that you've come so far_

_To be right where you are_

_How old is your soul?_

_I won't give up on us_

_Even if the skies get rough_

_I'm giving you all my love_

_I'm still looking up_

_And when you're needing your space_

_To do some navigating_

_I'll be here patiently waiting_

_To see what you find_

_'Cause even the stars they burn_

_Some even fall to the earth_

_We've got a lot to learn_

_God knows we're worth it_

_No, I won't give up_

Rachel finished the song short since Katie was already asleep. She must have been tired. That song had always been Katie's favorite for her to sing. It always calmed her down. Rachel had sang it to her as a baby and it still worked wonders in helping her get to sleep.

Rachel left her old bedroom and went into the guest room to go to bed. Her thoughts were a mixture of Katie's dream and her possible date with Finn. With so many things going on right now, she wasn't sure if she should even be dong whatever it was that she was doing with Finn.

"Rachel, go." Her daddy told her.

"Are you sure?" Fixing her outfit to make sure that she looked alright.

"Yes. We'll be fine. Your papa will be back soon."

"Okay." She said. "But, if you need me, call me."

"Will do. Now, don't worry about us. You go have some fun." He thought for a moment. "But not too much, if you know what I mean." He added.

"Daddy!" She almost shrieked.

"Oh, come, sweetie, you know I'm kidding. Now go have fun." He said as he pushed her out of the house.

He walked back in the living room where Katie was watching the Swan Princess.

"So, who wants ice cream?" He asked.

Katie shot up. "ME, me, me, me, me, me!" She screamed.

"Okay, okay!"

Finn waited outside of the little bistro. He had stopped pacing and was now just leaning up against the building. He kept looking up and down the street waiting for Rachel to show up. It was five til noon and there was no sign of her. She was usually so punctual.

He got his phone out and started playing Temple Run. It was an old game, but he liked it. He was just getting ready to jump back onto the rocks when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He jumped higher than the little red-headed dude on his phone did. He looked up and there was Rachel.

"Oh, hey." He said putting his phone up.

"Hey. I'm not late, am I?" She asked.

"Oh, no. I just got here early." He explained. "Ready?" She nodded. He opened the door for her and followed her into the restaurant.

The waitress sat them in a corner booth and took their drink orders.

"So," Rachel started. "How are things?" She thought it was kind of a awkward start, but really this whole situation was weird.

"Fine. Well, yeah, kinda." He answered.

"Care to elaborate on the 'kinda' part." She asked.

"Just a lot of stuff going on."

"I understand that."

"Yeah, what brought you back after all this time?" He asked. He figured that he had a right to know.

"Well, daddy is… sick." She said.

"I'm not trying to pry, but what kind of sick?"

"He's got a brain tumor." She said trying to avoid looking in his eyes.

"Oh, Rach. I'm sorry. I didn't know." He paused waiting on her to say something. "How is he doing?"

She took a big breath before answering. "Well, he's had a lot of doctor's look at it. There's one who thinks that he can fix it with surgery or something. It's really risky though. I'm torn on whether I want him to do it or not."

"That's understandable." He said.

"If you don't mind my asking, how did Burt die?" She said trying to change the subject.

Finn was taken aback by the question, but thought that she might as well know. "It was another heart attack. He was closing up the shop, alone and he collapsed. Carl from the bookstore noticed that the lights were still on in the garage as he was closing his shop. He went over to check it out and found him."

"That's sad. I thought he was doing better."

"He was. I think it was stress that got to him."

"Was he still senator at that point?" Rachel asked.

"Um, no. The shop wasn't doing to well." He answered. "Still not doing good."

"What do you mean?"

"I basically have to declare bankruptcy on the garage. It's losing too much money to keep going."

"Oh, that's too bad." She said remembering her days spent at that shop.

"Yeah, I just hate it because Burt left it to me and I ran it into the ground." He confessed.

"But you said that the garage was having problems before Burt died." He nodded. "Then it wasn't your fault." She grabbed his hand trying to comfort him.

That was when they both felt it. The spark.

She let go trying to get her emotions under control.

"So, how's your mom?" She asked trying to change the subject, again.

"She's fine. She's dealing with everything as best she can." He paused. The image of the pink car seat appeared in his head. "So, how's New York?" He said hoping to lead her where he wanted her.

"Um, it's okay." She said shortly.

"Have 'broke into the biz' yet?" He asked.

"Not really. I've tried, but I just don't think it's going to happen."

"Why not?" He asked.

"I just- I've run out of time. I can't keep chasing that dream. I have to have a regular job. I have to have money. It just wasn't working out." She said

"So you just quit." He said before thinking.

"Absolutely not! I tried for many years, but it just didn't happen."

"That doesn't sound like the Rachel Berry that I know." He said. He knew she would get mad, but that was when she was the most honest.

"I'm sorry, but I am most definitely not the Rachel Berry that you remember." She said. She starting to get that crinkle in the middle of her forehead.

"Why? What happened?" He prodded.

"I don't think that's any of your business." She said calmly.

"Really? Really, Rachel?" He said. "Come on. You can tell me."

"I-"

"Do you have kids?"


	7. Thirsty

**A/N: Hello again. Here is another chapter. A very important piece of information is revealed in this chapter. One that many seem to be questioning. Also, I've found out that the more reviews I get, the more inspired I am to write. So, if you want more, please R&R! Lots of Love! **

"Do you have kids?" He asked out of the blue.

She felt all the blood leave her face. She was in shock. Where did that come from? How did he know?

She sat there with her mouth open, thinking. Finn tapped her on her shoulder. "Rach?"

"She's five." She answered.

He was about to ask for more information, but he was interrupted. Rachel's phone started ringing.

The ringing brought her back to reality. She looked at the caller ID. It was her papa.

She got up. "I'm sorry, I have to take this." She grabbed her purse.

Before Finn could nod, she had already left the table and walked outside.

"Papa?" She answered.

"Rachel, I'm glad I got you. I need you to get home, now." He said hurriedly.

"Papa, what's wrong?" She asked as she started to pace.

"I was talking to your daddy on the phone and he just stopped talking to me. I heard Katie scream and start to cry." Rachel was about there herself. "Anyway, I called 9-1-1. They are on their way to see if he's okay."

"What about Katie?"

"I called Ms. Ellis to go over and get her. I heard the sirens as I was talking to her. Now, I want you to go get Katie. She's probably in shock or something. I'm on my way to the hospital. To check on your daddy." He heard no response. "Rachel? You still there?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. I'm on my way home."

"Okay, bye sweetie."

Rachel hung up, got into her car, and started towards her home to deal with the madness.

Finn sat there as he watched her walk through the door. She answered her phone. He watched as her expression went from worried to more worried.

He got even more concerned when she started pacing up and down the sidewalk. He thought that maybe he should go check on her, but didn't. He figured that he'd check on her when she came back in.

The waitress showed up with their drinks and asked if he knew what they both wanted. He told her it'd be a few more minutes.

He looked out towards the street expecting to see Rachel pacing around. Problem was, she wasn't there. He started to freak out. Did she just leave him? He left the table and walked outside. Maybe, she had walked out of his view.

"Sir! Sir!" He heard the waitress as she ran after him. He continued walking determined to find her.

He did. She was driving away in her car. She just left.

"Sir! Excuse me!" The waitress said tapping his shoulder.

"Wait!" He yelled causing her to jump. "Oh, I'm sorry." He said trying to apologize. "What do you need?"

"I-I just wanted to know if you wanted To-Go cups for your drinks." She said.

"Um, no. Here." He grabbed five bucks from his wallet. "Thanks."

He left the restaurant and walked back to the shop. On his way, he tried calling her phone. Voicemail every time. He knew something was wrong. But, what?

When he got back to the shop, he saw Kurt's car parked near the office. He walked into the office to see if he could find his brother.

"Hey!" Kurt practically screamed from Finn's chair.

"Hi." Finn said. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I know you had that whole thing with Rachel today and I wanted to know how it went." He said.

"Worse than you would possibly think." Finn said sitting in the guest chair dropping his head into his hands.

Kurt sat up. "What happened?"

"She left."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"What'd you do to her?"

"It wasn't me. She got a phone call. She went outside to answer it. Next thing I know, she's in her car driving away."

"What happened before that?"

Finn thought for a moment. "Uh… Oh! I asked if she had kids."

"WHAT?!" Kurt screamed.

"Yeah. When I fixed her car, I saw a car seat. I asked her if she had kids. All she said was 'She's five'." Finn explained.

"Wow. I can't wait to tell Mercedes."

"Kurt, you can't do that."

"Why not?"

"I'm pretty sure that she doesn't want anyone to know."

"Okay. Fine, but… What now?"

"I don't know. I guess I should talk to mom and tell her she has a grandkid."

"Wait. Do you think that the kid's yours?" Kurt asked.

"Well, yeah."

"Finn, she's five."

"I know. That's what I told you."

"Finn, when was the last time you saw Rachel?"

"I was just with her."

"No, I mean when was the last time you saw her before she came back from New York?"

Finn thought for a moment. "I saw her once on main street three years ago."

"Um, okay. Let me just get to the point. When was the last time you and Rachel had sex?" Kurt asked bluntly.

"Oh, uh, high school."

"Okay, so let's do some math now." Kurt said mockingly. "That was seven years ago, right?" Finn nodded. "And it takes nine months for a baby to grow, right?" Finn nodded. "So that would mean that if this child were yours, it would have had to have been born that next February or earlier, right?" Finn nodded again. "Let's just say that the kid was born in February. That would mean that as of this past February, "your" kid would now be six. Not five."

"Okay, maybe she was wrong."

Kurt raised his eyebrow. "Really?" He paused. "You think that a mother would forget what age her only child is."

"Okay, no. What does that mean?"

Kurt sighed. "It's NOT your kid!"

Finn thought about what Kurt was saying. "Huh, really?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, now I'm really confused."

"How so?"

"I don't know. I'm just… I guess I got a lot of stuff on my mind."

"Alright, well, I'll just leave you here to your thoughts."

"Ms. Ellis!" Rachel called out as she knocked on the elderly woman's door.

She waited for a moment until Ms. Ellis opened the door. After they exchanged greetings, Ms. Ellis called Katie to the door so Rachel could take her home.

Katie ran straight into her mother's arms. Rachel picked her up, thanked Ms. Ellis, and carried her baby home.

Once home, Rachel sat down on the couch and tried to calm Katie down. It took a while but the five-year old finally stopped crying.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Rachel asked still holding her daughter.

Katie shook her head. "It came true."

"What are talking about?"

"My dream. G-Granddaddy fell and wouldn't wake up." Katie said in a soft voice. "You said it was just a dream and that he was fine."

"I know. I was wrong. But, baby, he'll be okay."

"I don't believe you." She said.

"I'm sorry, but you have to have hope that he will be okay."

"I don't."

"I know that, too." She paused. She didn't know what to say. Then she remembered something that always made her feel better. "Do you want some water?"

"Yeah." Katie answered.

Rachel left Katie on the couch and went into the kitchen to get some water. She had to search the cabinets for a while, but eventually found it. She grabbed her favorite gold star cup and pour some water into it.

Rachel went back into the living room and handed Katie the cup. "Here you go."

Katie took the cup and drank almost half the cup in one try.

"You know, when I was little, grandpapa and granddaddy would give me water whenever I was sad. I don't know why, but it always cheered me up." Rachel told Katie as she grabbed a tissue to wipe her daughter's face. Katie nodded still drinking the water.

The phone started to ring. Rachel was worried. It was probably her papa. He would have either good or bad news. She rather not know, but knew that she had to answer it.

She grabbed the phone and went into her daddy's study. She didn't want Katie to see her if she broke down.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Rachel." Her papa answered. "Did you get Katie?"

"Yeah. She's a bit shaken up, but I'm trying to calm her down." She answered. "How's Daddy?"

"He's awake and alert. The doctor thinks that he may have had a seizure. They're running a few tests now. I'm not sure how long we'll be here. The doctor did say that we should be able to come home today."

"Really?"

"Yeah. There's no reason to keep him here. He did hit his head and had to have stitches, but he didn't have a concussion. When we come home, I'll probably have him go straight to bed."

"Okay. Do you need me to do anything?" She asked trying to be helpful.

"Just be there for Katie. That's all you can do, okay?"

"Okay. I love you. Make sure you tell Daddy that I love him, too."

"Will do. Bye." She hung up.

As she was walking back into the living room, she remembered something. Or rather someone.

Finn.


	8. You Got Some 'Splaining To Do!

**A/N: Hey all! Just got on Spring Break and well, I'm bored. So I wrote another chapter. This is sort of a tell all kind of chapter so enjoy. Please R&R. Or Follow. Or Favorite. Or all three. Please!**

A few days passed and Rachel's daddy seemed to be getting better all the time. He was still a bit weak, but he was starting to joke around and even move more.

As she was waiting on her daddy to recover, Rachel spent her days thinking about Finn. She should've called him to tell he what had happened. She owed him that much. Probably more.

So she decided that she needed to have a long talk with Finn. In person. As hard as that might be.

He was working on Kurt's Escalade. Kurt said that something was wrong with it. The only clue that Finn had was that the engine made a "thud creek thud croak" sound. So basically nothing.

He used this time to think about Rachel. He just could not figure out why she would run out on him like that. What if something was wrong?

Then there was this kid. After a long, extensive conversation with Kurt, Finn finally got it through his head that there was no conceivable way that this was his kid.

Just when Finn was starting to wonder what had happened to the baby daddy, he heard a noise. It sounded like knocking. He turned around and saw a silhouette through the window of the garage door.

He put down his wrench and walked over. As he got closer, he realized who it was. Rachel.

He motioned towards the office door. He went into the office and opened up the main door to let her in.

"Hey." He said shutting the door behind her.

"Hi." She said moving towards the desk.

"Um, would you like to go into my office and talk?" He asked.

"Yes. That'd be perfect." She followed him into his office.

He guided her over to his futon that he got for the office. It's come in handy on stormy nights when he just doesn't want to go home.

They sat there for a moment, both wondering where to start.

"So, I guess I should tell you what happened." Rachel started.

"That'd be nice."

"The phone call was from my papa. Daddy had had seizure and fallen and hit his head. So I just had to go. I had totally forgot why I was in town in the first place. I'm so sorry."

"No, no. It's fine. I understand. It's your dad. I would've reacted the same way if I were you." He said. "Is he okay?"

"He will be. His still a little off, but he's getting better."

"That's good." He paused for a second. "I-, um-"

Rachel waited for him to continue. "What?"

"I just was wondering if we could maybe continue our conversation that we were having before your phone went off." He said avoiding eye contact.

Rachel thought for and moment and then remembered what they were talking about. "Oh, right."

"Yeah. I was just wondering about that. Her, I mean."

"Her name is Katie."

"Katie." He repeated.

"Yes. It's kind of a long, embarrassing story."

"Well, I have plenty of time." He said. "As long as you don't mind telling me."

Rachel hesitated at first, but then she remembered who she was talking to. Finn had been her very best friend in high school. He always seemed to care about her, genuinely.

"Alright, but I don't want you telling anyone. And yes, that includes Kurt. I just want to keep my life as private as possible."

"Deal." He said holding out his hand. She took it and they shook.

"Okay, so I guess I should start with what happened after high school." Rachel started. "So, I went to NYADA. It was hard. Most of my teachers hated me. The only one that truly liked me was my voice teacher. Anyways, I didn't really have many friends to begin with. No one really seemed to like me. That was except for one guy. Brody."

Finn could feel his fist tighten at the sound of this guy's name. He didn't even know what the guy did, but it was obvious that he had hurt Rachel.

"He was sweet and he acted like he understood what I was going through. So, we started dating. It was fun. It was what I needed. With everything that was going on with school and missing you, I needed something to help me relax. A few months went by and we were still having fun. Then he decided, on his own that it was time for us to have sex.

"I was against it. I didn't love him like I felt that I should. I knew it wasn't right, but he started to threaten that he would break-up with me, if we didn't. He was the only one I had, so I really didn't have much of a choice. I mean, looking back now, I understand that I had all the power to make a different choice, but I just couldn't." Rachel stopped.

Finn could see that her eyes were getting red as she stared at a stain on the futon. He knew that this must be hard for her. He decided to grab her hand in hopes of encouraging her. He could tell that it worked when she smiled.

"Okay. Where was I? Oh, yeah. Basically, one thing led to another and the next thing I know, I'm locked in the bathroom waiting five minutes for a stick to tell me if I'm pregnant or not. When the test came back positive, I broke down. It felt like the end. In my mind, there was no way that I could possibly achieve my dreams with a baby strapped to my chest. It just wasn't going to happen.

"I think one of the harder parts was telling Brody. I wasn't sure how he would react. I think that I had convinced myself that he truly loved me even though I knew that he didn't. I told him one night after a dinner I had cooked for him. He wasn't too happy about it. He even tried to convince me to get an abortion. He said that having a baby would ruin me. I thought about what he had said that night and I came to a conclusion. I couldn't abort the baby. Even though, it seemed like a good option, I just don't think that I could live with that. And, once I told him about my decision, he left me."

"Rach, I'm so sorry." Finn said wiping a tear from her cheek.

"It's okay. It was for the best. He wasn't any good for me. At the time, I was completely heartbroken. I got really depressed after that, too. Anyway, the next thing that I had to do was tell my dads. That was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. They were very understanding. I think that they knew how heartbroken I was about Brody and my worries about my career. Then I went and talked with my teachers. For the most part, they told me to give up. Said that I would never make it. And so I did."

"Wait. What?" Finn sat up.

"I dropped out of NYADA. I got a job as a waitress in a small diner and moved into a cheap loft. Very cliché."

"But, what about your dreams?"

"Well, I figured that I needed to take a break and focus on me and the person that was growing inside of me. My dreams could always come later. My dads weren't too happy about it either." She paused to see if he wanted to say anything, but he was silent so she went on.

"So, nine months later, Katie was born. My dads came up a week before the due date to make sure that they were there for me. The first few months were just terrible. My dads left after two weeks and then I was on my own. I wasn't sure what to do. I read books and called my dads when I had questions. I was basically learning as I went." She paused as a smile formed on her face. "It was worth it though. I got to watch this little baby grow and learn with me. And when she smiled, it was just amazing."

Finn couldn't help but smile with Rachel as she went down memory lane.

"So what's going on now?" He asked.

"Well, now we are back here for Daddy. We're going to have to go back soon though. I've got to get her registered for kindergarten."

"So, you're still in New York?"

"Yeah. I thought about moving back several times, but I keep thinking that just maybe, I can get a better job or go back to school. Katie loves it there and I just don't want to uproot her. She's already bored with Lima. I can't really blame her."

"That's true."

"So, tell me about you. Well, more about you." Rachel offered to change the subject.

"Well, I went to community college for about a year and a half. I still couldn't really figure out what I wanted to do so I also dropped out. Burt promoted me to assistant manager so that I could hopefully have a career as a mechanic. Kurt sort of floated from taking college course online to community college. After about three years of that, he started working with community theater. He's been doing that ever since. Then there was Burt. He was doing fine. He had lost a bunch of weight and was eating better. The heart attack came out of nowhere. Kurt had planned on making the move to New York in hopes of getting involved in some sort of theater up there and working his way up. He couldn't do it after Burt died. He was just crushed."

"Is he okay now?"

"Yeah, he's almost back to where he was. Actually, I think it'd be great if you two got together while you're home and hang out or something. He could use it."

"That might be fun." She said with a small smile.

"Yeah and maybe we could get together again. You know, make up for the whole forgetting about me thing."

She gasped as she playfully slapped him on his arm. "I apologized for that."

He laughed. "I know. I'm just kidding with you."

They made plans for later as he walked her out of the garage.

"Thanks, Rach. For telling me everything." He said as he locked the door.

"I thought that you deserved to know. And besides, you are the best friend that I've ever had." She said digging for her keys in her purse.

That night they made progress. They both told their stories. They both were honest. And they both went to bed with a smile on their face.


End file.
